HC directs issue of notice to TN govt, Police, CBI

Chennai: Madras High Court Tuesday pointed out
that the National Human Rights Commission and police were seized of the killing of five persons in an alleged encounter here recently and directed issue of notice to the state
government, police and CBI on a plea seeking a probe by the investigating agency.

When the petition by Advocate and Director of Prisoners
Rights Forum P Pugalenthi, also praying for a direction to
government to book policemen responsible for the killings, for
murder came up,the court said the petitioner should go and
participate in the probe by state police`s crime branch-CID
into the shooting down of the five young men on February 22.

The state Advocate-General A Navaneethakishnan said two of
those killed had been identified and Rs 14 lakh recovered.

Directing the Registry to post the writ petition before
them on March six, a Division Bench, comprising Justices Elipe
Dharma Rao and N Kirubakaran, told the respondents to file
their counter-affidavits by that day.
Meanwhile, six advocates and 23 other residents of
Velachery, where the alleged encounter took place, today filed
a plea to implead them in the petition by Pugalenthi.

Stating that Pugalenthi`s plea `is vexatious and malafide,`
they claimed that it was premature as the matter was pending
before the NHRC and CB-CID. The advocate had rushed to the
court `without having proper knowledge or information about
the real facts,` they alleged.
They claimed that the "organised and dangerous group of
criminals" had launched an attack on the policemen forcing
them to retaliate, which resulted in the deaths in the
encounter that ensued.

Tamil Nadu police had on February 25 transferred to the
Crime Branch division of the CID, the alleged encounter
case in which the five men suspected to be involved in two bank
robberies were shot dead.